Exchange dereg bill alive

As Congress struggles to adjourn this week, a comprehensive deregulation bill sought by Chicago's futures exchanges is making renewed progress and could be brought to a vote in the House within days.

The bill was considered dead earlier this month when the Chicago Board Options Exchange and other securities markets strongly objected to a last-minute compromise for ending an 18-year ban on single-stock futures. But concerns about tax disparities, unequal margins and other competitive disadvantages have been nearly resolved, according to congressional sources, leaving only a few relatively minor issues.

The question is whether there's enough time to tackle those issues amid far larger battles over the budget and other high-priority legislation.